Last June I traveled to Central Asia to lead a week-long training event for an indigenous church planting organization. The leaders of this organization refuse to accept the spiritual oppression that characterizes their country. They are standing against cultural, social, and governmental norms and proclaiming that their current situation and the eternal destinies of their families and neighbors can change. Their concerns span both the spiritual and temporal realms. In June we focused on helping them become a transparent organization that conducts business honorably.

These leaders face persecution and oppression from many sides. For example, this week they are appealing unfair fines that have been levied against them. When I spoke to one of the leaders yesterday he said six of them will probably have to either pay $3000 (which is a lot of money there), turn over all their possessions in their houses, or spend 15 days in jail. Please pray with me that their appeal is accepted and justice prevails in this situation.

Even in the midst of this disturbance, these same leaders are continuing to apply the lessons in best organizational practices that we discussed in June. They have diligently worked to produce an organizational budget which is now nearly complete. I am proud of their progress! I did not expect that they would be able to move forward as effectively and quickly as they have. In fact, just a few months ago, I urged them to not attempt to begin their fiscal year this January because I did not expect that they would be able to complete their budget in time. This morning I changed my position and now I am urging them to attempt to begin their fiscal year January 1! They have come so far!

A next step for them is to create an accounting system that reflects their budgetary decisions. They need help setting up their books. So, I contacted an accountant friend who is now considering sharing her expertise with this organization at this critical time.

This is so exciting! Strongholds that oppose God’s desires for his people are coming down!

As a society, Central Asians willingly give up freedom to gain security. They have been abused by one oppressor after another and they have learned to cope by keeping their heads down and complying with whoever currently holds power. Generally individuals don’t make waves. Even personal achievement is not aggressively pursued. They recognize that it is the tall blade of grass that gets cut. Conformity is more highly valued than independence. Security is better than freedom.

So, they silently accept the dictates of their authoritarian governments. It is better to be oppressed than dead.

Central Asian values are different than mine. However, as an open-minded student of culture, I accept their values as different, not wrong. I don’t feel it is my place to criticize or change other cultures. Cultural values are built over generations by complex and often painful experiences. Even if I did feel some obligation to change their culture, it would be useless to try. Culture tends to only change incrementally over time.

Periodically I wonder how I should respond to a shift that I believe is happening in my culture. During my lifetime I have observed a shift away from freedom being the unquestioned superior value. My grandfather and his peers were fiercely independent. They questioned and resisted any social or governmental restraints on their personal independence. They willingly sacrificed security for freedom. For them freedom was much better than security. My parents and their peers were more cautious in their defense of freedom. They believed that government could provide certain levels of safety for citizens. They incrementally traded bits of freedom for “safety nets.”

Now it seems that the exchange of freedom for the promise of security is gaining momentum. Take air travel as an example. When I first started flying, I was free to walk directly to the gate without any checks. To board the plane I only needed a ticket to prove I paid for the flight. How this process has changed! I am grateful for the security I feel, but I miss the freedom.

I wonder how much freedom my culture is willing to sacrifice for the sake of security? Obviously we don’t want authoritarian dictators ruling over us. However, every additional safety net is a step in that direction. My personal preference is to err on the side of freedom. It seems to me that we should not give up our independence too quickly.

What about you? Do you think our culture should prioritize the protection of us, the people? Or, should we stand for freedom which allows and/or causes more people to suffer the consequences of evil, poor decisions, and other dangers?

In 1987, about six other Caleb Project staff and I attended Singapore ’87, a conference geared for younger Christian leaders from around the world. The event proved to be a formative organizational experience, in part, because we invested a significant amount of time conducting semi-formal interviews. We divided the list of non-US delegates between us and then we spent an hour or so interviewing each one. Our primary question was, “What is the role of the US Church in global missions?”

I don’t remember all that we heard, but I do remember being impressed by the humility that characterized many of our global colleagues. Most people we talked with were appreciative of the role US missionaries had played in their part of the world. However, they were ready to become equal participants in God’s global cause. We did not hear, “Missionary go home.” We did hear a request for mutual adjustment according to gifts and resources.

This is the same message Paul Borthwick brings in his new book, Western Christians in Global Mission. Paul does not boil the issues down to simplistic answers. He regularly answers the questions he raises with, “It depends.” I agree that this is often the appropriate response to large global issues. Today’s world is complex and solutions are complicated.

However, Borthwick does a good job identifying key issues and responsibly calls for adjustments in the way North American Christians interact with the rest of the world. His experiences and conclusions are similar to mine. This book gives me hope that Western Christians are learning to listen and truly serve our sisters and brothers in the rest of the world.

Frank Ide, my travel companion, and I had several opportunities to venture into the local community and experience how regular people live in the northern Ghanaian town of Tamale while we conducted a training event in November. We both enjoyed these jaunts into the local culture. Frank took his camera and “snaped” people. He often showed them their picture on the camera’s screen. They always squealed with delight. We talked with people as we walked through their neighborhoods.

One afternoon as we passed a group of uniformed teenage students who had just finished their school day a particularly extroverted girl, Gloria, started a conversation with us. She spoke very good English, so I questioned her about her teacher. She told me his name. After we left the students, Frank and I went into the school grounds and found the teacher. I told him how impressed I was with his students’ English and asked him how he became such an effective teacher. (Actually, Gloria’s accent was better than the teacher’s.) He said that he has a passion for English and teaching. He reads English books and continually works to improve himself as a teacher. While we were talking, his superior walked up. I also expressed to him my pleasure in meeting the students and how delighted I was with the quality of their spoken English. Both the teacher and the administrator were glowing at the compliment. They humbly responded that they appreciated the encouragement and they continue to strive to do better.

Their response illustrated the reality that even though cultural differences are real and not to be overlooked, people are more alike than they are different. These men were genuinely encouraged that we took the time to applaud them. Probably, like in most jobs, they receive little positive feedback. Our appreciation of their work lifted their spirits.

Another incident from that day lifted Frank and my spirits. We had an interaction with a group of people who assigned local names to us. Frank was appropriately given a name that means “to bring together.” I was given the name, Wumpine, which means “God’s gift or blessing.” May that be so!

I recently spent a couple weeks in Ghana, West Africa. One of the elements in our itinerary was to conduct three days of training with 25 local businessmen in the northern Ghana town of Tamale.

I prefer to have a clear understanding of who the trainees are before I begin a training event. In this case, I did not have that information, so we started the training by surveying the trainees to gain an understanding of why they had come.

The men (and one woman) are mostly farmers, carpenters, and shop keepers. Each participant is either running a small enterprise or desires to start one. None of them has ever considered preparing a business plan, budget, etc. It was quickly obvious that the best thing we could do for them was to give them some perspective and tools about planning.

It was truly a light bulb experience for most of them.

I started the training by showing them from Scripture that God desires that we offer him what we have. (Mark 6:30ff, Ex 4:1, etc.) Unlike us, he is not concerned about what we lack. Rather, he asks, “What do you have?” “What is in your hand?” As we offer him what we have, he multiplies it. These entrepreneurs can create wealth and make their poor communities better places if they offer what they have to the Lord.

After establishing a God focus, we went through a step-by-step process of building a business plan and concluded the three days with how to create a budget. One particularly popular topic was risk. After we talked about it, they quickly realized how often their success is sabotaged by something unanticipated. It was a lot of material, but every person in attendance expressed appreciation and committed himself to follow through by creating a plan for their endeavor. The evaluations they completed are very encouraging.

Thank you for praying for this trip. The work we did could be life changing for people who are living in extreme poverty. Please continue to pray that they will apply what they learned. That they will offer to the Lord their small opportunities and that he will cause their offering to grow. That they will generate wealth and create more opportunities for the next generations.

Before Nancy, my wife, and the rest of her team visited Naboli, a village in northern Ghana, in July 2009, the church there consisted of just a few people. However, that dramatically changed after the team explained to the women who are clustered just outside the village how much God cares for them. These women live there because it is a relatively safe place for them. They have been accused of being witches, been abused, and have fled from their homes and families. The people of Naboli allow them to live there kind of like refugees. Their part of town is know as the “witches camp.”

Nancy and the other women on her team reached out to these women. They told them that they are special to God. They listened to their stories and hugged them. This demonstration of God’s love caused these downcast women to brighten. Their mourning turned to dancing. Now the church is full as dozens of these women gather each week to worship God. They have found new life in Christ!

I visited the church several weeks ago with my traveling companion Frank Ide and our hosts from Christian Outreach Fellowship. We arrived after the service had begun and as we entered the school room we were overcome with joy as we joined with the mostly female congregation in song, dance, and instruction. About 50 worshipers had gathered and they were singing with gusto with two drums.

I was asked to deliver the message that morning. I talked about us being light to the world. I told them that they are a light to the nations because of what is happening to them and the concern that the world has for them. Their response to their circumstances is an example to people everywhere. I also challenged them to intentionally be a light in their region. Much darkness, much ignorance and suffering, remains. I asked them, “What can you do to be a light right here in this region?”

The offertory was most memorable part of the service. They placed a container about the size of a paint can on a stool in front. As they sang, the women danced their way to the front and, with humble bows, they deposited their small offerings. These women have almost no income. Actually, they have almost no income potential. It is unclear where they come up with the coins that they offer, but they give joyfully.

I was reminded of the story Jesus told in Luke 21:

As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”